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Course Name: CSC0056 Data Communication 資料通訊 (Fall 2021)
Instructor: Chao Wang 王超
Teaching Assistant: Cheng-Hsun Chuang 莊承勳
Course Meetings: Mondays 14:20–17:20 (mostly online, and on some selected dates in room S101, Lecture & Research Building, Gongguan-Campus; see the schedule below)
Office Hours: Wednesdays and Thursdays, 2–4pm (room 511, Applied Science Building, Gongguan Campus), or by appointment
Midterm Exam: Nov 15, in class during the course meeting time
Final Exam: Jan 10, in class during the course meeting time

This course is offered in English (EMI), with Mandarin support. 此門課程為 EMI 全英語授課 (配合中文輔助).

Course Syllabus
Course Schedule
Textbooks and Other Resources
Accessibility
Academic Integrity
Homework Assignment

Course Syllabus

Data communication is essential for networked computing systems. The objectives of this course are for students to get some ideas into systems analysis, to have hands-on experience to systems development, and to engage in recent advances in data communication systems.

In particular, we will

learn the basics of the standard queueing model;
learn the widely used MQTT messaging protocol and its practice;
learn to work with a cloud platform (Amazon AWS as an example); and
learn to do critical study on scientific papers.

In the 2021 fall semester, this course is structured as a hybrid course (數位課程) and is also offered on Taiwan Online Campus. The lectures are divided into three categories: asynchronous online (learn at your own pace), synchronous online (real-time remote class), and traditional face-to-face (i.e., come). See the course schedule below for detail.

Such a hybrid course is new, and to see how we may improve learning experience, we’d like to collect course-related activity data as well as students' comments. Therefore, most of the course materials will be posted on Moodle, since it is possible to trace online activities there (e.g., the number of clicks/watches for each subject).

Prerequisites:
Working knowledge in C and Linux.

Grading:

Homework Assignments 50% (every assignment counts)
First Exam 20%
Final Exam 25%
Participation 5%

Course Schedule

Color scheme: green for asynchronous online lectures; red, synchronous online; blue, face-to-face.

#	Date	Topic
1	Sep 27	Course Introduction
2	Oct 4	Network Flow Algorithms
3	Async.	Broker-Based Data Communication
4	Oct 18	Data Communication Programming Basics
5	Oct 25	The Queueing Model
6	Async.	Markov Chain and Queueing Systems
7	Async.	The Aloha System
8	Nov 15	Midterm Exam
9	Async.	Time-Division Multi-Access
10	Async.	Data Routing
11	Async.	Network Flow Control
12	Dec 13	Real-Time Data Communication
13	Dec 20	Error Handling
14	Dec 27	Real-Time Fault-Tolerant Communication
15	Async.	Time Synchronization
16	Jan 10	Final Exam
17	Asynch.	Supplementary Topics
18	Asynch.	Supplementary Topics

Textbook and References

We will pick materials from the following textbooks and references:

Textbook:

[1] Harchol-Balter, Mor. Performance modeling and design of computer systems: queueing theory in action. Cambridge University Press, 2013. ISBN 9781107027503. (Read it at NTNU library. Our library also purchased an e-copy; click here via campus network.)

[2] Bertsekas, Dimitri and Gallager, Robert. Data networks (2nd edition). Prentice Hall, 1992. ISBN 0132009161. (Read it at NTNU library) (author’s page)

[3] Tarjan, Robert Endre. Data Structures and Network Algorithms. Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 1983. ISBN 0898711878.

References:

[1] Kurose, Jim and Ross, Keith. Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (5th edition or newer). Pearson, 2010. ISBN 0136079679.

[2] William Feller. An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Applications, Volume I (3rd edition). Wiley, 1968. ISBN 0471257087.

[3] Chao Wang, Christopher Gill, Chenyang Lu. Adaptive Data Replication in Real-Time Reliable Edge Computing for Internet of Things. 2020 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Internet-of-Things Design and Implementation (IoTDI), 2020.

[4] Chao Wang, Kuo-Feng Ssu. A Distributed Collision-Free Low-Latency Link Scheduling Scheme in Wireless Sensor Networks 2010 IEEE Wireless Communication and Networking Conference, 2010.

[5] Luby, Michael. “A simple parallel algorithm for the maximal independent set problem.” SIAM journal on computing 15.4 (1986): 1036-1053.

[6] Ramanathan, Subramanian, and Errol L. Lloyd. “Scheduling algorithms for multihop radio networks.” IEEE/ACM Transactions on networking 1.2 (1993): 166-177.

[7] Chao Wang, Christopher Gill, and Chenyang Lu. 2019. Real-Time Middleware for Cyber-Physical Event Processing. ACM Trans. Cyber-Phys. Syst. 3, 3, Article 29 (October 2019), 25 pages. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1145/3218816 (link)

[8] Chao Wang, Christopher Gill, and Chenyang Lu, FRAME: Fault Tolerant and Real-Time Messaging for Edge Computing, 2019 IEEE 39th International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems (ICDCS), Dallas, TX, USA, 2019, pp. 976-985, doi: 10.1109/ICDCS.2019.00101. (link)

[9] Ho, Yao-Hua; Tai, Yun-Juo; Chen, Ling-Jyh. 2021. “COVID-19 Pandemic Analysis for a Country’s Ability to Control the Outbreak Using Little’s Law: Infodemiology Approach” Sustainability 13, no. 10: 5628. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105628

Accessibility

Students in need are encouraged to bring their considerations to the instructor.

Academic Integrity

All homework assignments and exams must be completed individually and independently, except as specifically allowed by the instructor.

Academic integrity is a key component of your education, which is for your benefit. Anyone found to be cheating or helping someone else cheat will receive zero score for that homework/exam. Please reflect on the university’s motto: Sincerity 誠, Integrity 正, Diligence 勤, Simplicity 樸.

Homework Assignment